What are some good drill bit brands?

[josh817]

Hey guys, hate to be posting ANOTHER thread. Curious what are some good drill bit brands? My dad has more than a few sets of bits but they're getting old and very dull. He bought some drill bit sharpener from Harbor Freight, I have a feeling its going to be another appliance from that store that doesn't do the magic it claims. Figured I'd get him a full set of nice sharp bits for metal drilling, that will stay sharp for a while.

 

Wondering how much they go for and if places sell full sets. I don't know what a "set" is defined as but I know Dad has this metal case about 7"x4" and it has 3 rows that go from like 1/64" up to... I don't know 1/2"? I'll get a picture of what I'm talking about. It holds probably about 30-40 bits. If I have to buy them individually I hope they aren't $5 a piece!

Edited December 6, 2010 by josh817

[hoov100]

enco has some nice drill bit sets, or you can go pick up two big drill index's from harbor freight.

[josh817]

The thing he has is like this pretty much, so I guess it holds 29 or 30 bits:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980210000P?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6

 

I see titanium coated stuff, is that fancy talk or is it actually good? If I get Craftsman, will they replace broken bits like they do for their other tools? I figured it would be the standard lifetime warranty. I'm seeing there is a huge price range for these bits. Must be a "you get what you paid for" type thing.

Edited December 6, 2010 by josh817

[getoffmyinternet]

A typical "full" set would be like 1/64" to 1/2", or #1 to #60 (then even A to Z and metric). There are of course smaller sets like 13pc, 21pc, 29pc, etc. with just more common sizes and you could get a full drill index from 1/64" to Z, but who gets that for regular garage work? If you want them to last longer for sheet metal you should probably get a cobalt set instead of regular HSS or even carbide, but it can get pretty pricey.

[getoffmyinternet]

I don't think craftsman's policy covers that sort of thing because bits are considered disposable after being worn out like saw blades, shop knives, etc. You probably only need carbide or titanium if you're regularly drilling hardened and stainless steel, in which case you should also use a cutting oil. That type would probably be a higher angle too and unsuitable for soft metals and wood. I'm not sure if titanium is all that great or not but it seems like simply using a harder metal than what you're drilling would keep it sharp longer, I wouldn't bother with diamond coated bits though. Unless he's really crazy about his tools, it's probably just best to get a cobalt set at best and plan on replacing it in five years. Even if they're super sharp there's no stopping him from breaking or losing a few over time.

[josh817]

We don't do any really hard metals, they're just dull because of over 20 years of use. It was really starting to piss me off this weekend when I was trying to fab a fuel cell mount and had to drill twelve 1/4" holes. Typical 1/4" bit of his is REALLY dull since its a popular size. I had to drill like a 1/64" first and then open it up with 3 more bits until I could get the 1/4" through. And that was just sheet metal welded to angle iron.

 

He pulled out his nice bits and they had the flats on the part that go into the drill. I initially thought that was nice so that I wouldn't spin the drill around a stuck bit... however when those bite, instead of spinning in the drill, they nearly break the machine. If its a hand drill it sucks even more. Goes right along TonyD's tool post. Drill press: meant to throw objects across the shop into something valuable.

 

Oh and he does like to keep all Craftsman for the warranty but if this doesn't have it then I won't be bias.

Edited December 6, 2010 by josh817

[getoffmyinternet]

I wouldn't be surprised if enco, huot, chicago-latrobe, maybe even irwin and craftsman tools were all made in the same factory. I've ordered from ATS and Browntool which both say "made in usa" but their tools are mostly unmarked mystery brands. All I know is the boxes they come in look identical. I like the craftsman and irwin cobalt sets, you can get them on the internet for less. Resharpening them works if you use the tool properly, but they never last as long the second time, so I don't think it's worth it. The titanium ones will go dull real quick after the coating wears off. I've had a cobalt index for a few years and so far it's proven itself. You can always get a full set now and then a small set down the line with the common sizes for spares and replacements. I think Norseman is a good brand of drill bits, that's pretty much all they make in fact.

 

If you use a press properly you shouldn't have a problem (don't use keyless chucks). The flats are more for convenience though to make it fool proof. A round bit should drill more true and if you clamp it down hard enough it will break before spinning. Spinning a bit can ruin it anyway. I don't really car for the bits with the pilot at the end either, but to each his own.

Edited December 6, 2010 by getoffmyinternet

[michaelp]

I just bought a Hitachi Black Gold drill bit for making the holes for the studs larger in my exhaust manifold flanges, seems to work good

[Sam280Z]

If he has a good set of bits that are just dull, get him a drill doctor. Drill bits are intended to be sharpened.

Sam

[JMortensen]

Harbor Freight Cobalt set. I'm not kidding. I've used everything up to but not including the machinist quality stuff like Chicago Latrobe, everything you can buy at a hardware store or the local industrial supply house and paid anywhere from $.50 to $30 for a bit, and I haven't come across anything as good as those cobalt bits. I've heard people say you're not supposed to use cobalt in drill presses, etc, but I've used mine in my press, high speed air drill, low speed air drill, corded drill, cordless drill, pretty much anywhere you can put a drill bit and they just work great. And for the price you can not have to worry about them and just buy a new set when you lose too many of them or if they get dull. Might be the best tool HF sells that I've used, and I've used a lot of them. For the record, HF's titanium coated bits and HSS bits dull when you look at them wrong.

[josh817]

Harbor Freight Cobalt set. I'm not kidding. I've used everything up to but not including the machinist quality stuff like Chicago Latrobe, everything you can buy at a hardware store or the local industrial supply house and paid anywhere from $.50 to $30 for a bit, and I haven't come across anything as good as those cobalt bits. I've heard people say you're not supposed to use cobalt in drill presses, etc, but I've used mine in my press, high speed air drill, low speed air drill, corded drill, cordless drill, pretty much anywhere you can put a drill bit and they just work great. And for the price you can not have to worry about them and just buy a new set when you lose too many of them or if they get dull. Might be the best tool HF sells that I've used, and I've used a lot of them. For the record, HF's titanium coated bits and HSS bits dull when you look at them wrong.

Well that's easy. He bought the Drill Doctor thing from Harbor Freight but as I said, I don't fully believe in it. Their tools seems to work fine but any appliances we have purchased just suck. I remember he bought a tumbler and when you saw it in action it was almost as humorous as one of those shaking belts that make you lose weight by jiggling your fat layers. When you're all done getting jiggled, you're still fat and your rolls are chafed. The tumbler didn't clean much of anything.

Edited December 6, 2010 by josh817

[johnc]

I generally agree with Jon. I don't spend a lot of money on drill bits anymore and look at then as disposable items. I bought a Drill Doctor a little while ago and all it does is give you one more hole each time you sharpen the drill bit. Its gathering dust in my shop somewhere. I just buy jobber bits from McMaster-Carr and toss 'em in the trash when they dull.

 

The big secret to making them last is to use cutting fluid (I use Oatey Dark Thread Cutting Oil) , don't spin them too fast, and make sure you're actually cutting metal. And stay away from Stainless Steel.

[sticky280zx]

ps a Unibit would work wonders for you, they got these cool steppy things (looks like a cone) and it just gets the hole bigger and bigger

[bobbyc]

i boy the harbor freight set too...when they are on sale...10-12 bux for a set of 20 bits or so...they work well for all i need...and as others have said...they are going to break, get lost, or become dull...then i just buy another set.

[260DET]

Hand sharpen mine on the bench grinder's fine wheel. Its a bit of an art but basically its just working out how to do it and then practicing.

[zguy36]

Hand sharpen mine on the bench grinder's fine wheel. Its a bit of an art but basically its just working out how to do it and then practicing.

 

I do the same thing, sharpen them on a bench grinder. Throwing away dull bits is kinda like throwing away your clothes because they stink. They make tools for that....

[JMortensen]

I do the same thing, sharpen them on a bench grinder. Throwing away dull bits is kinda like throwing away your clothes because they stink. They make tools for that....

Bad analogy. If T shirts were a dollar, I might just throw them away. But they're not. Spending my time and energy to prolong the life of a tool which costs $1 (HF cobalt set is current $115 for the 115 piece set - not on sale) doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe that's because I've tried to sharpen them and I suck at it, and the cost of the Drill Doctor is about the same as the cost of the entire 115 piece drill index.

[zguy36]

Bad analogy. If T shirts were a dollar, I might just throw them away. But they're not. Spending my time and energy to prolong the life of a tool which costs $1 (HF cobalt set is current $115 for the 115 piece set - not on sale) doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe that's because I've tried to sharpen them and I suck at it, and the cost of the Drill Doctor is about the same as the cost of the entire 115 piece drill index.

 

 

Maybe that is the problem, only spending a dollar on a drill bit. Cheap drills will need sharpened more often and in harder materials you might be lucky to even get them to cut their way through. Harbor Freight drills are junk. I have a set of HSS drills that I inherited from my grandfather, some of which are over 60yrs old by now and only need touched up once in a while. Sharpening a bit on a bench grinder (30 seconds) takes a lot less time than running to the store to buy a new bit.

 

For reference, a real cobalt drill set, 115 piece is going to cost you some money. Here is a set sold by Enco for $510.00

http://www.use-enco.com/cgi/INSRIT?PMAKA=890-9962&PMPXNO=5496847&PARTPG=INLMK32

 

You can also buy t-shirts for a dollar, you just choose not to wear a shirt that is that cheap.

[JMortensen]

Have you tried the HF cobalt bits? If you're a machinist, then they probably aren't for you. Like I said before, I've tried just about every bit you can buy outside of the machinist's quality stuff, and they're honestly the best I've used, hold their edge the best too. Only thing I've tried that was the equivalent was a set of MATCO cobalt bits, but that was an index of 10 bits that cost $50 back in 1993 or so. I think it's the cobalt material that makes the difference, and the HF ones are not coated. I've broken a couple and they're the same color all the way through.

[Chaparral2f]

I agree, HF drills are well worty the investment. The only problem I've had are the friends who borrow a bit and can't quite figure out how to open a drill chuck, and return a bit to the index.